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The working relationship between horses and riders is a unique association requiring cooperation between both to achieve the goals of humans in their selected equestrian sport. This dissertation chose the equestrian sports of eventing and dressage to investigate this working relationship between horse and rider, and its stability across training and competition settings. Consideration was given to psychological, physiological and behavioural factors for the human and horse. The research requiredthe development of a measure to indicate the harmony of the working relationship, which resulted in a rider and observer inventory, and of a physiological indicator of therelationship which became the correlation between the horse and rider heart rate and was called heart rate synchronisation. To examine reactive behavioural factors of the horse a horse Behaviour Check List was created, and to consider possible psychological factors implicated in this behaviour a Horse Temperament Inventory was developed.Anxiety was the psychological factor chosen to assess the rider, and the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory – 2 and the Emotion and Mood Components of Anxiety – Questionnaire were used as its different components.It was hypothesized that there would be significant environmental differences between most factors with the competition environment showing evidence of lowerworking relationship scores, higher heart rates, higher rider anxiety, and more reactive horse behaviours. Horse temperament was considered to be a trait and therefore nodifferences were predicted. Negative relationships were hypothesized between the working relationship measures and rider anxiety components, horse temperament andcritical horse behaviours. A positive relationship was hypothesized between rider self confidence and the working relationship. Negative relationships were also predictedbetween rider anxiety, horse temperament and horse behaviour. No specific predictions were made regarding relationships between rider and horse heart rates and the other factors.In Study 1 with five eventing teams, results from Cohen’s d analyses of differences between means supported some hypotheses. A moderate to large effect size was found for rider’s somatic anxiety and heart rate being higher in the competition environment, but no significant effects were found for the rider’s cognitive anxiety and levels of self-confidence across environments. However, contrary to hypotheses, working relationship and the heart rate synchronisation factors had higher scores in thecompetition environment and showed a small and large effect size respectively. The horse’s temperament was also more positive in the competition environment, with theHorse Temperament Inventory – Rider (HTI-R) revealing a small effect size and the Horse Temperament Inventory – Observer (HTI-O) without the rider a large effect size,suggesting that it seems to be identifying a psychological state of the horse rather than the hypothesized temperament traits. The hypothesis regarding the horse and rider’s heart rate was also accepted as they also increased in the competition environment. The horse’s maximum heart rate and minimum heart rate showed a moderate effect size and a large effect size was found in the differences of the horse’s mean heart rate. Therider’s maximum heart rate and mean heart rate data also showed a large effect size and the rider’s minimum heart rate means showed a moderate effect size. Due to unforeseencircumstances and the low number of participants, the hypotheses could not be evaluated using inferential statistics. However, the patterns of the findings led to some modifications of methods and the selection of another equestrian sport for Study 2.The findings from Study 2 with thirty dressage teams indicate the working relationship between horse and rider was stable across environments during a dressagetest. The heart rate synchronisation analysis was able to identify significant relationships between most horse and rider teams during a dressage test in both the training and competition environments. At a group level the correlation between the horse and rider heart rates displayed a significant positive relationship in the training environment, but not in the competition environment. A t-test analysis found stabilityof the horse’s temperament across environments, suggesting that the Horse Temperament Inventory is measuring temperament traits. Also the rider’s somatic anxiety showed a significant increase in the competition environment, which was also reflected in the rider’s emotional experience of this anxiety. Unexpectedly the rider’s self-confidence was also significantly higher in the competition environment. However, no predicted associations were found between working relationship scores and heart rate synchronisation, or between these measures and horse and rider factors.The relationship between reactive horse misbehaviours and rider anxiety, and the team’s working relationship was analysed. A significant association was found between each of the rider’s and judge’s ratings of the working relationship and heart rate synchronisation with the horse’s misbehaviour scores in the competitionenvironment. The rider’s somatic anxiety also showed a significant association with the horse’s misbehaviour in both the training and competition environments. Significantrelationships were also found between horse misbehaviour and performance in both training and competition environments. To extend this investigation further adiscriminant function analysis was conducted to determine if the riders with levels of high and low cognitive and somatic anxiety could be categorised on the basis of horsetemperament. It revealed that riders with high and low levels of somatic anxiety could be categorised on the basis of the horse’s temperament score, whereas riders with high and low levels of cognitive anxiety could be classified on the basis of the horse’s heart rate means in the competition environment.Overall, the dissertation has significant methodological, conceptual and practical outcomes. It demonstrates possible self report, observational and physiologicalindicators to assess the horse-rider working relationship, and a reliable measure of horse temperament. It also addresses several speculations, assumptions and anecdotalreferences in the literature about the interactive association between horse and rider. Findings here point to significant associations between horse and rider psychology and physiology, and patterns of relationships that may indicate some relevance to theworking relationship, and ultimately performance.

Horse riding is a popular global activity involving a wide range of sporting events including dressage, endurance riding, eventing, show jumping, horse racing and rodeo. Unfortunately, horse riding and equestrian sporting events, report a high prevalence of concussion. The most common mechanism for brain injury in equestrian events involve high levels of linear and rotational acceleration during head impacts when falling from a horse. These accelerations create injurious brain tissue strain. While both linear and rotational accelerations occur during head impacts, the rotational components of acceleration are closely linked to brain tissue strain. To reduce brain strain, helmet technologies have been developed with the aim to reduce head rotational accelerations during an impact. The most common rotational managing technology, multi-directional impact protection system (MIPS), employs a low friction layer to reduce the amount of rotational acceleration sustained by the brain during head impacts. MIPS tests equestrian helmets using a monorail drop rig with a 45-degree steel anvil covered in 80 grit sandpaper at 6.2 m/s. The surface experiencing impact in the MIPS test method is a very low compliant surface (steel). It is impacted at a velocity of 6 m/s, and an anvil angle of 45-degrees. In contrast, most impacts in equestrian involve high compliant material such as sand or turf with an average impact velocity is 9 m/s, and the average angle of impact of 27 degrees. The proposed rotational testing method employed by MIPS may not fully represent the most common accidents involving equestrian events. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of a helmet with rotational technology to reduce linear and rotational acceleration, rotational velocity, and maximum principal strain (MPS) in equestrian helmets. An equestrian specific test protocol was developed using the common impact conditions for concussive events for equestrian riders. Nine m/s impact velocity, with an angle of 26.5 degrees to the horizontal axis, and an anvil compliance consisting of 66 mm of 602 vinyl nitrile foam with synthetic grass to represent turf impacts was reported as the most common impact characteristics. Using a Rail Guided Launcher, a helmeted Hybrid III headform was launched and impacted a low and high compliance anvil using the defined velocity and angle parameters. Two equestrian helmet types were impacted, a conventional helmet with no rotational technology and the same helmet model with rotational technology. The impact locations tested included front, side, and rear boss, as these were the most common impact locations reported for concussive events in equestrian. Linear and rotational acceleration and rotational velocity were measured using a DTS SLICE sensor installed inside the headform. The linear and rotational acceleration curves were then used as input to the University College Dublin Brain Trauma Model (V2.0) to calculate MPS. Statistical analysis included four t-tests, two 2x2x3 ANOVA's with 8 pairwise Tukey post-hoc test, significance set to α=0.05. The results were not uniform across impact locations and anvil compliances, the rear boss impact location in helmets with rotational technology revealed significantly lower rotational accelerations and rotational velocity. The results revealed helmets with rotational technology should be designed to perform under these high-energy conditions. If the rotational technology was designed with these considerations, it would be possible to investigate the potential of rotational technologies to decrease dynamic head response and the brain tissue strain.

This thesis is a sandwich thesis that explores youth participation in equestrian sport. Each of the three papers that comprise the substantive portion of this thesis are stand-alone papers. Each paper employs a mixed methodology which includes document analysis, media analysis, and semi-structured interviews. The goal of the thesis is to analyse and describe: (1) what, if anything, young female equestrians gain from participating in equestrian stables, (2) the form and function of “trust” in competitive youth equestrian sport, and, (3) the characteristics of the equine industry in Canada and how it has evolved since the introduction of the Canadian Pony Club in 1934. These three aspects of equestrian sport in Canada are examined using data from equine industry documents such as reports and program material, equine industry media including websites, online magazines, and blogs, and semi-structured interviews with current and former female equestrians who participated in equestrian sport during their youth. This thesis is a retrospective study. Interviewees were members of the Canadian Pony Club at some point during their youth. The thesis employs a range of sociological theories and perspectives, drawing on the work of Pierre Bourdieu, George Herbert Mead, Niklas Luhmann, and Donna Haraway. Theoretically and substantially, it provides a rigorous understanding of the equine industry in Canada, the human-horse relationship, and female youth participation in equestrian sport. It makes a contribution to sociology by providing an analysis of modernity and the current conditions of the risk society, arguing that the horse (and other animals) now occupy a unique position in society and may act as a means of dealing with the individuality and complexity of a risk society. / Thesis / Candidate in Philosophy

This thesis explores the possibilities of using varied long span glue-laminated arches to create a dynamic structural enclosure over an expansive open surface. It investigates using arches that increase and decrease in height and span width, while varying in their lean. When combined with a fabric enclosure, they create a roof that constantly changes. The idea is to create a world class equestrian center that is visually exciting from both the interior and exterior, rather than simply creating a large scale version of a barn. / Master of Architecture

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SammanfattningSociala medier är och har under ett antal år varit ett stadigt växande fenomen i det moderna samhället. Det har även visat sig att idrotten i allt högre utsträckning påverkas av vad som sker via de sociala medierna. Syftet med studien är att öka kunskapen om och fördjupa förståelsen för unga ryttares förhållande till sociala medier i vardagen kring hästen. Sex fokusgruppintervjuer med gymnasieelever på Flyinge AB och Ridskolan Strömsholm har genomförts. Resultatet har analyserats med hjälp av Erving Goffmans teorier kring ”Stigma”, ”fronstage” och ”backstage” samt ”impression management”. Studien visar att unga ryttare påverkas av sociala medier i vardagen kring hästen. Framförallt menar de unga ryttarna att bilden av den ”perfekta vardagen med hästen” påverkar dem och i vissa fall leder den till försämrat självförtroende och en känsla av att inte räcka till. Ridsportens idealbild som förmedlas via sociala medier är snäv och sätter stor press på vad ungdomarna själva lägger upp. Resultaten visar även att det är viktigt att ungdomarna ska kunna relatera till innehållet i det som publiceras och att de beundrar personer som vågar visa en genuin bild av hur vardagen kring hästen är. Dock framgår det att personer som vågar visa en bild som skiljer sig från normen om det perfekta livet kring hästarna ofta blir stigmatiserade.Sökord: Sociala medier, ridsport, stallbackskultur, unga ryttare, ridsportens idealbild / AbstractSocial media is, and have for several years, been a steadily growing phenomenon in modern society. In recent years, there have been indications of that sport is increasingly affected by what is happening in social media. The purpose of this study is to analyze young riders’relationship with social media in their daily life around the horse. Six focus group interviews with upper secondary level students at the Swedish national equestrian centers Strömsholm and Flyinge has been conducted and have been analyzed using the sociologist Erving Goffman’s concept of “stigma”, “frontstage” and ”backstage” and “impression management”. The results show that young riders are affected of what’s communicated on social media in, and about, the equestrian sport context in their everyday life around the horse. The “perfect picture” of a life around horses that is often communicated on social media, by for instance professional riders, affect young riders and their self-confidence. They compare themselves with this perfect picture produced on social media and get the idea that they are not as perfect themselves. The results also indicate that there is a strong urge among young riders to be able to relate to the content produced on social media and that they admire people who dare to show a true picture of their everyday lives around the horse. However, it appears that people who does dare to show a picture which differs from the norm about the perfect life around the horses often get stigmatized.Keywords: Social media, equestrian sport, equestrian culture, young riders, equestrian ideals

This Minor Field Study, sponsored by SIDA, undertaken as a Bachelor´s Thesis investigates equestrian tourism in Trinidad, Cuba. Tourism has become a vital tool for development of the destination. Since the legalization of equestrian excursion, horses have become a link between less developed areas and the profit from tourism. The income from equestrian excursions is vital for people's livelihood. A rapid increase of excursions due to low entry barriers have led to varying quality. Equestrian excursions in Trinidad face challenges concerning horses’ welfare and safety. When the equestrian tourism is growing, it is crucial that the development is sustainable to ensure this vital income in the future. A number of critical factors were identified and solutions presented involve planning for carrying capacity, industry coordination, raising producer awareness and integrating animal welfare in the community.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Laurence A. Clement / The Sustainable Sites Initiative (SSI) put forth by the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is a set of standards which promotes sustainable land development and management practices. The SSI allows the role of the landscape architect to become increasingly important with society’s push to be sustainable. This has become evident with the involvement of landscape architects in projects not traditionally associated with the profession. Equestrian facilities that were once designed solely by “horse people” are now being designed by architects and landscape architects. Equestrian facilities are complex developments that have multiple functions and needs, most importantly being the safety of the horse and rider. Kansas State University has determined a need for a new facility to host the equestrian needs of the campus and has chosen a site located near the corner of Kimball Avenue and Denison Avenue, north of the main campus. Using the location chosen by K-State as a hypothetical site, a program for the EquiCenter was developed to meet the needs of the Animal Science Program, the equestrian and rodeo teams and the Equine Assisted Human Development and Rehabilitation Program. Precedent studies informed the early stages of this project and a thorough review of the SSI led to a selection of credits for application in this project. The selected credits were then applied to the equestrian facility program and the site in a design process. Evaluation of the design concepts yielded a determination regarding the ability of this facility to receive a sustainability rating. Due to constraints of the site and the SSI, it has been determined that the K-State EquiCenter will not be eligible to be rated sustainable under the Sustainable Sites Initiative. The SSI presented unique challenges in developing the equestrian facility. These challenges presented opportunities to discuss limitations and recommend changes to the SSI that may allow equestrian facilities to receive a sustainability rating in the future.

Equestrian sport has been present on the Modern Olympic programme since 1900 with Para-Equestrian Dressage making its debut at the 1996 Paralympic Games. Due to the combined governance of Olympic and Paralympic versions of the sport, the mixed gender of competition and the potential age range of competitors, equestrian sport provides an opportunity through which to understand a unique context of athlete experience. This thesis has sought to identify and evaluate athlete experience within the context of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and to place this experience within the wider career histories of members of the British Equestrian Team. This study utilised a combination of a systematic literature review methodology and ethnographic data collection and analysis with a critical realist approach, creating a framework that values interpretive insights into how the subjects perceive and construct their world whilst at the same time considering ways in which the literature and individual subjects identify, comment on, and frame the reality of the world of equestrian sport. This study has resulted in the emergence of six themes pertaining to experiencing the games; equestrian sporting culture, identity, values, challenges, performance support and success. Results show many similarities and shared experiences for both the Olympic and Paralympic equestrian athletes. The differences regarding the lived experience for these athletes are predominantly associated with the development of the sport, the relative short Paralympic history of equestrian sport in comparison to the Olympic disciplines, and the place of the Games in the context of the riders career histories. Recognising and understanding the kinds of satisfactions and challenges that individuals experience, the significant features of their athlete identity, and the structural constraints and opportunities of their environment may help identify and design the services and provision required to support the athletes through this elite sporting experience.